Hey, folks! The boys were off last Friday, but were back at it today. Link to come later once it's available. Here is a recap of the three topics that were discussed:
1. JJT checked in with his sources to get a quick update on Dak. Said he got some laughing emojis from a team source when he asked about the reports that he was seeking 45M in Year 5 of a possible contract. Mentioned three things that he learned from sources. The first was that Dak simply isn't taking a 5 year deal. Why isn't he taking a 5 year deal? Aaron, Russell, and Tannehill got 4 year deals and Wentz and Goff got 4 year extensions. Once teams make that leap and set precedents, it becomes a new reality, and one that the Cowboys will eventually have to accept, if Dak is in fact their guy. JJT couldn't even think of a number high enough that Dak would accept on a 5 year deal. It would simply be out of Jerry's price range.The second thing is Dak has
not been offered 35M at all, despite reports surfacing over the last few months that he has. JJT's sources indicate that he's been offered slightly less, but it would still make him the second highest paid QB in the league. And the third thing JJT mentions is that the two sides have not had any contact since late March, possibly early April. JJT noted a few months ago that some of his sources told him that Dak and Jerry could get this deal done in a half hour if Dak walked into Jerry's office and they hammered it out. But since Dak and his agent are playing hardball at the moment, these type of negotiations tend to drag themselves out. Especially since this is just as important of a deal for Todd France as it is for Dak Prescott. JJT suspects that the two sides will engage in talks again in July, right before the deadline. Hasn't been much movement on the Dak front, otherwise.
2. JJT got into some talk here about the pass rush, as we all know it's been suspect. There have been a lot of discussions about Jaylon Smith rushing the QB more, but there are a lot of unknowns there so far since the guys haven't taken the field yet. Jaylon did play down at Notre Dame quite a bit though, so he could be valuable in a role where he's more of a pass rusher because he's already proved to be an effective blitzer in the NFL. It's really Mike Nolan's job to figure out Jaylon. Said Aldon Smith will likely play a Dee Ford type role coming off the edge and rushing the passer, but not dropping into coverage. Aldon's last year in the league he only got 3.5 sacks, but pressured the QB 30 times. Randy Gregory produced similar numbers in 2018, but with about twice as many sacks. If you can get those two guys to achieve only their floor, those are solid rotational players with extremely minimal cost. In 2020, we have got to find a way to improve our pass rush because Marinelli's vanilla scheme did not bring out the best in our pass rush because we were constantly only rushing 4. Under the Marinelli tutelage, we never finished higher than 13th in the league in sacks (and that year we only had 36). The highest amount of sacks we ever recorded were 39. We finished 15, 13, 18, 21, and 26 sacks away from the NFL leader. Nolan, Tomsula, McCurley, and even McCarthy have got to figure out ways to be more aggressive and get after the QB. I think sending Marinelli and Richard on their merry way was a good start.
3. Quick note at the end here. JJT spoke to a source close to the Jamal Adams debacle. Said the source told him that he "can't figure out what the hell the Jets are doing" with Jamal. He's too valuable both as a player and as a leader on that Jets defense to piss off and make him not want to play for you. The source did indicate that the number one team that Jamal Adams would absolutely want to play for first though is in fact the Dallas Cowboys. "Put that in your pipe and smoke it."
And that's all I got folks! Enjoy the long holiday weekend and remember why we recognize it.
Cheers!
